England beat South Africa by 36 runs in a rain-affected encounter at the Under-19 World Cup in Potchefstroom to claim their second victory of the tournament.
South Africa’s opener Steve Stolk (64) got his side off to a brilliant start sharing a 71-run partnership with Lhuan-dre Pretorius after being inserted to bat.
David Teeger (0), Oliver Whitehead (0), and Romashan Pillay (0) were all dismissed without scoring but Dewan Marais’ (42) batting helped his side post 230 all out.
England’s spinner Jaydn Denly (3-37), Eddie Jack (3-28) and Tazeem Ali (3-26) all picked up three wickets apiece to bowl out South Africa with four balls to spare.
In reply, England captain Ben McKinney (48) and Noah Thain (63no) put on a 92-run stand, the highest of the match, to post 137-2 before rain stopped play. England were ahead of the required rate as per the DLS method and were declared the winners.
Tazeem dismissed Whitehead and Pillay with back-to-back deliveries in the 20th over before bowling South Africa’s captain Juan James leaving the hosts faltering at 211-9 by the 44th over.
England’s Eddie Jack celebrates the wicket of South Africa’s Tristan Luus
South Africa’s all-rounder Romashan Pillay (1-19) claimed the prized wicket of McKinney while right-arm pacer Tristan Luus (1-19) bowled England’s opener Jaydn Denly (one) cheaply.
Rehan Ahmed’s brother Farhan is featuring for England at just 15 years old and is hoping to showcase his off-spinning skills during the tournament but was unable to get a wicket against South Africa.
Rehan played at the 2022 U19 World Cup, taking 12 wickets as England made the final before losing to India in the Caribbean.
England beat Scotland by seven wickets in their opening match where McKinney top-scored with a brilliant 88 followed by Jaydn Denly’s 40 and Farhan (3-22) finished with a three-for.
England will now face the West Indies on Friday, January 26 at Potchefstroom. Selected games from the tournament will be shown live on Sky Sports.